Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

I’m a new coxswain on a team that rows in a salt water bay, and I’ve noticed some of the coxboxes have stopped working. Is salt water damaging to coxboxes? Like if I dip the connector for the mic/boat wire in the water to loosen it like you would in fresh water, is it bad to do that in salt water?

Yes, most likely the cox boxes are being damaged from the salt water corroding the wiring, which can cause the cox boxes to short out or not turn on at all. Salt water also carries an electrical charge if I remember correctly from chemistry, which means you’re lucky you haven’t suffered any kind of electrical shock to your hands or face yet.

My suggestion is to get in touch with NK and tell them what’s been going on. They’ll be able to tell you for sure if there is irreparable damage done to the cox boxes or whether or not they can be repaired/replaced. To be safe though, stop dipping the connectors in the water.

Leave a Comment